Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“I’m sure. You’d never hurt me. I know that.”
My hand freezes halfway to my belt. “Unless you ask…” I clarify.
Again, she giggles, and everything in the world feels right. “Unless I ask.”
When I notice the heat in her neck creeping higher and higher the more I undress, I slow my movements. I take my time, allowing her to savor every flex, throb, and bead of pre-cum her watch instigates.
Once my clothes sit to the side of her panties, I tug my boxer shorts down my tattooed thighs, exposing both my hand and my cock. Azra chokes on her breath. I want to say it’s because my cock is a choking hazard even when flaccid, but that isn’t the sole cause of her shock.
“La mia tigrotta,” Azra whispers, spelling out the script scrawled along the left-hand side of my V muscle. As recognition dawns, she lifts her eyes to mine. “You called me that on the jet when you left.” She doesn’t bother waiting for me to confirm since she’d see through any lie I tell. “What does it mean? My little…”
“Tiger,” we say together.
It’s a fight for her to hide her smile, but she gives it her best shot. “It looks fresh.”
I look down at the swirling black ink before jerking up my chin. “As fresh as a newborn baby.”
Azra smiles, aware of what this means. I didn’t get this tattoo years, months, or weeks ago. I can’t even say days. It was mere hours ago.
“I got it after dumping the waitress on the freeway. She didn’t look like you, breathe like you, or talk like you, so I had no interest in learning she could never taste like you.”
Happiness beams out of her, hardening me to the point it’s painful.
It doesn’t linger for long. Her happiness. I’m still up at the plate, batting freely.
“When you left, I thought you’d never speak to me again.”
“Won’t lie. I was pissed. But then I realized there had to be more to your situation with Antonio than you were letting on. You can’t stand him.”
“Hate is a better word.”
I smirk. “I went to the Adami compound the same night to confront you. I had no clue you’d checked in”—I wave my hand around our room—“here.”
“Vivienne thought it would be safer.”
“Vivienne knew your plan?”
Azra waits a beat before sheepishly shaking her head. “She kinda guessed.”
I smile wryly, confident there’s more to Vivienne’s story than her carefree demeanor shows. While my interest is piqued, my wish to ensure the woman in front of me is okay prevails.
“You gonna scoot, la mia tigrotta? Or am I going to continue freezing my nuts off standing butt fucking naked on icy tiles?”
Grimacing, she slides forward, welcoming me to slip into the tub behind her, before her head rockets up. “Hold on, are you allowed to bathe so soon after a tattoo?”
“Probably not. But do you think I give a fuck?” Heat prickles back into my toes when I dip my feet into the water. “If you think I’m going to give up this opportunity, you’ve got a lot to learn.”
She leans back to mold her back against my front, and a groan rumbles in my chest. She’s such a perfect fit that you’d swear God designed her for me. “And we can always get it replaced… on your cock, so everyone knows who it belongs to.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply, undeterred by the utmost certainty in her tone.
If she wants to brand every inch of me, I won’t raise a single objection.
I tell my cock to sit the fuck down when a quick rub of her shoulders has her sharing stories I’m doubtful she’s shared with anyone. “This is weird to admit considering how today started, but I feel safe. I haven’t felt like this since I was a child.” She coughs, clearing her throat of nerves. “I was so well sheltered by Hattie’s mother that I skipped most of the horrible things girls in families similar to mine faced. Ada was a widow, so she didn’t have much, but she still gave Hattie and me the best life possible. I was her boss’s daughter, but she treated me as if I were her own.”
Even when the story veers down a road I want to flood with blood, I listen intently.
“Things got hard for Ada when she became too unwell to work. She almost lost their house. Then Antonio rode in on his white horse. Hattie thought he was the prince she’d wished for every birthday. He promised her he’d never let her mother lose her house. Up until three months ago, he had kept his promise.”
The bathwater ripples when I clench my fists.
I already know where this is going, and I already fucking hate it.
“He sent Ada an eviction notice,” Azra says, her voice cracking. “She has until the end of the year to move out. I promised Hattie I’d never let anything happen to her mother when I drove her to the airport to visit the man who changed everything I knew about my best friend in a matter of weeks, but I had nothing to help me uphold my pledge.” Her breath shudders. “I’m the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Turkey, yet I don’t have a single cent to my name.”